New Study Traces Airborne Dust Back To Shrinking Salton Sea

As the Salton Sea shrinks — exposing land that was once underwater to desert winds — one concern has been that increased dust emissions will make already poor air quality worse for nearby residents. A recently published study out of UC Riverside confirms this is already starting to happen. “With drying up of the lake and exposing of the shoreline, we get an additional source of airborne dust,” said UC Riverside associate professor of atmospheric science Roya Bahreini, who led the study. “And exposure to these particles can have health impacts for humans.”